This is a post I wrote more than 14 years ago, it’s put on Private in another blog of mine, but a recent event just reminded me of it, and I find it apt to share it here.
20/01/2010
When I woke up this morning and watched my thoughts, it´s like turning on the TV or radio for the morning news which Dad used to do. These are the reception from 6.45 am to 7.45 am:
1. Horse race: The winner philosophy. Being the winner does not mean that you´re the best, neither does not winning mean that you´re a loser. When I think of the race horses speeding to touch the finishing line, all of them are almost equally swift. The only thing that marks the horse as the winner is usually touching the finishing line at a fraction of a few seconds earlier than the runner-up.
2. As I watch the sun breaking through the clouds in diagonal light columns, it just occured to me that the villain and victim are one and the same: they are just at the opposite ends of the same pole.
3. Washed my clothes (and bed sheet by hand) early in the morning without taking breakfast, feeling for the poor people with lack of basic necessities who work hard from dawn till dusk.
4. Humans tend to live their lives backwards with the norm of taking risks and adventure when young and teaching when old. Let me tell you why it should be the other way round:
When we are young adults, our outlook on the world is fresh and we are eager to learn. Teaching is only effective when the teacher is also open to learning as it´s a two-way street. The young is not jaded nor cynical, and open to new experiences and information. Meanwhile risky endeavours like extreme sports and adventures in the wild can put an end to life. It is a waste of life to die young. So, better reserve all those extreme sports for old age when we are jaded and tired with life, and ready to move on.
Photo by Pietro Mattia (Horse race called White Turf. It takes place every year on the iced lake of Sankt Moritz.)
Update (8.5.2024)
It is not true that Dad did not give any last words. The above messages were “received” 6.5 years after he passed on, and 9 months before daughter was born. These were his last words to me before taking on a new personality, a new life, where he will be loved instead of being abandoned.
Roots & Wings 